BREAKING NEWS

9 Investigates Orlando City Commission travel budgets

ORLANDO, Fla. - Orlando tax dollars paid for Orlando City Commissioner Daisy Lynum and a police escort to attend a conference in the small West African country of Equatorial Guinea, a country more than 5,000 miles away from Orlando.

Channel 9's Lori Brown learned Lynum had travel expenses during a five-year period totaling nearly as much as the five other city commissioners combined.

When Brown recently approached the commissioner at a public meeting to ask about her travel, Lynum said, "I have that prerogative. I have that budget. Why is that a problem to you?"

9 Investigates spent months trying to arrange an interview with Lynum about her travel expenses, but after getting no response, Brown caught up with her at an Orlando-Orange County Metro Plan Orlando Transportation Board meeting.

"We wanted to talk to you about how your travel expenses benefited," Brown asked.